Darren Adam Heitner, Esq. is the Founder of HEITNER LEGAL, Founder/CEO of Dynasty Dealings, LLC, Professor of Sports Law at the University of Florida and University of Florida Levin College of Law and Founder/Chief Editor of Sports Agent Blog, a leading niche industry publication. He is an attorney licensed to practice on the state and federal level, and focuses on sports, entertainment, and intellectual property litigation and transactional work.
Darren is the author of How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know (published by the American Bar Association), Contributing Writer of An Athlete’s Guide to Agents, 5th Edition, and has authored many sports, entertainment and intellectual property-related Law Journal articles.
Darren has a Bachelors of Arts from the University of Florida and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the same institution.

Running Back Ray Rice Plans For The Future; Invests In Sports Training System

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice says he is always interested in "shocking his body" and that using VertiMax was definitely a shock to him this past off-season.

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is trying to prove wrong everyone who holds on to a preconceived notion that all professional football players are destined for failure after retiring from the NFL. To accomplish his goal of maintaining success off of the field, Rice has decided to purchase an interest in a company named VertiMax, which is an innovator in delivering leading edge speed and vertical gains to athletes across all sports and ages.

“I’m excited to be a part-owner of a company that is going to change everything and make a real difference providing athletes new ways to develop their abilities, and at the same time open up opportunities for athletes of all ages everywhere,” said Rice to Forbes.com. ”But VertiMax is not only for athletes. It will allow any person to become more explosive, faster and jump higher.”

Rice trained with VertiMax this past off-season and saw the opportunity to invest as a no-brainier adding, “I first found out about VertiMax on YouTube. Then I saw people using it. I knew it was a start-up company and quickly realized I do not only want to use the training system…I wanted to be a part of getting others involved.”

VertiMax training systems are now being used by 50% of the NFL, 40% of the NBA, 30% of MLB and over 70% of all major Division I colleges and universities. Rice believes that the training system is a great change-up for college and high-school programs and will put forth a strong effort to increase usage at the pre-professional level.

“Ray told me that he wished that he had a VertiMax when he was growing up and that the youth athletes he works with that also use VertiMax are always excited about what VertiMax has done for their speed and vertical,” said Mike Wehrell, CEO/founder of VertiMax and former football player at the University of Florida. “None of them would trade it for anything.”

For running backs such as Ray Rice, there are many obvious benefits of using VertiMax. Training with resistance bands, Rice has been able to improve his ability to stop-and-go and work on position-specific drills to become a faster and stronger football player. ”During the season you shock your body,” said Rice. ”I’m always into shocking my body…and using the VertiMax this past off-season definitely shocked my body and got me ready for this year.”

Ray Rice will not be suiting up in a football jersey for the rest of his life. Unlike many other athletes, he had the wisdom and support to get involved with a company he believes in, trusts and most importantly, provides a product that he uses. Rice noted, “I know I’m not going to play football forever, so getting involved long term with this company that’s creating things I know athletes are going to want and need made more sense than just endorsing one great product.”

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